Western New England University, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, and Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana in Honduras

Yale University

Source: Department of Energy

There's a reason the Department of Energy has spent millions every two years challenging teams of university students to build the best solar-powered house.

“You have a beautiful sunny day, but you have a drought,” said Daniel Poneman, deputy secretary of energy, who noted he had arrived in Irvine from a far colder climate as inches of snow fell. “Climate change is a fact. It's settled.”

The U.S. Solar Decathlon, and the work of 20 teams of inventive students from around the world, could inspire advances to stem the dramatic storms and weather conditions besetting the country, he said Thursday afternoon from a courtyard at UC Irvine.

“That's where you come in,” he told students from Team Orange, a consortium of UC Irvine, Chapman University, Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College that won a place among 20 teams, including Yale and Stanford universities, competing in the 2015 Solar Decathlon. “We need you.”

For the first time, Orange County will be represented in the Solar Decathlon.

UC Irvine, Chapman University, Irvine Valley College and Saddleback Community College have combined to compete in October 2015 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine.

“We're going to build the home that has the stamp of Orange County on it,” said Greg Washington, dean of UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. There's no financial prize for the winner, but based on the ecstatic reactions of last year's winner – Team Austria from the Vienna University of Technology – a prize isn't what's important.

“You will have students whose lives are shaped by this competition,” Washington said.

For Alex McDonald, a 29-year-old UC Irvine graduate student who already has two undergraduate degrees and is now pursuing both urban planning and mechanical engineering, being in the competition is already a dream come true.

It combines all of his interests – social sciences, physical science, green energy and construction – into one energy-efficient house.

The California poppy inspired Team Orange's entry. It's orange, that's for sure, and also opens to soak in the sun before shutting as night falls, said McDonald, who helped develop the team's concept.

Not to mention, it's drought tolerant – something increasingly important in the state's thirsty condition.

Team Orange, competing against 19 others, will certainly have a home-court advantage when it comes to transportation.

In 2013, the closest competitors still had to endure trucking their buildings from downtown Los Angeles. International entries were transported by ships, trains and trucks traveling, in one case, 1,600 miles to Irvine, a potentially huge cost for any budget. A team from Virginia withdrew weeks before the competition's start last year after it was clear it wouldn't be able to cover the $185,000 in round-trip costs to Irvine. It cost $45,000 when the competition was in Washington, D.C.

Five California teams will be competing next year. Aside from Team Orange, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Stanford University, UC Davis and Cal State Sacramento will vie for solar house-building supremacy.

Related Links

Solar Decathlon competitors seen on the runways at the Great Park in 2013. FILE PHOTO: ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Team Orange members from Chapman University, Irvine Valley College, Saddleback College, and UC Irvine celebrate as U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman announce their team as one of 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park.ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
From left, U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman, Mayor Steven Choi, and Dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Gregory Washington, Ph.D., share as laugh. U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman vists UC Irvine to announce the 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park.ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman visits UC Irvine to announce the 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park. ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman visits UC Irvine to announce the 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park. ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Mayor Steven Choi is all smiles as he addresses the audience after U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman made the announcement of the 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park. ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Surrounded by Team Orange members, Gregory Washington, Ph.D., center, Dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, leads the cheer as Mayor Steven Choi and U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman join in.ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
U.S Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman, left, and Mayor Steven Choi celebrate after the announcement of the 20 teams selected to compete in Solar Decathlon 2015, which will be held at Orange County Great Park. ED CRISOSTOMO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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